Part 54: Gamma and Joules

Chapter 40: Gamma and Joules

Sunday

Evening continued

We burst into the main palace, and found ourselves right in the middle of a battle! Blazing Gestahl was battling a man and woman who could only have been Gamma and Joules.

Feinne on Soul Nomad:

Those who enjoyed Schildkrote's Persona 3 thread will probably instantly recognize Gamma's voice, as he's one of the characters voiced by Derek Stephen Prince, who was also Takaya. I mention this because he does almost the same voice for both characters.

Oh, and this section has some great lines, because Gig REALLY hates these guys. He's clearly been saving up for this moment.

VIDEO




Can you move? No, of course not.
You wield no power in this chamber of souls because your body and soul are not connected.
You would challenge us with such a useless appendage? Do you know nothing?
Damn you...!
Gestahl!
Hmhm. We have another guest, Brother! We've had so much excitement today!
The woman is Master of Life Joules. The man is her brother, Master of Death Gamma.
Two of the last names on my to-kill list.



Holy shit, I want to slap that smug look right off your stupid face.
You bastards set me up! I never forgive backstabbing!
Haha, oh my! I think I hear... yes, it's the buzzing of a fly! Or perhaps that's just my imagination.
You two-faced, bloodsucking, ten dollar whore! Hey, kid-!
Why'd you mess with Haephnes?!
That's right! Hey, wait, no! That's not what I was talking about!
You... you are not a Drazillian.
I see. A World Eater, then.



Hearing their reasons only made me more certain. These monsters didn't even see how anyone could disagree with their intent.



But as soon as they gain knowledge, they resort to deceit and anger. As such, we prefer everyone to be an innocent child.
And in return, we are charged with watching over this world and protecting it from all danger.
So there is no murder, no accidents, no unexpected death of any kind.
Hm. It is just as Brother says.
We tolerate no pain, no suffering or sadness here. Our people do not yearn, do not seethe, and they do not despair.
The people of Drazil experience only unending bliss, only true happiness.
No! That isn't happiness!
Happiness isn't something you can give to people. It's something that must be discovered by each soul.
It sounds to me like you want this world to be a child's cradle.

Gig's sentiments mirrored my own, here. Life here was no life at all. There may be suffering and fear and death on Haephnes, but at least the people get to live their lives.



Hardly! I'm just pissed off at how stupid you guys are!
Then let me ask your host there a question... are you happy?

The question hit me hard. Was I? Was I satisfied with how this had all turned out? Luckily for me, Danette came to my rescue.



I always see you laughing and smiling.
Of course you're happy!
Oh... I suppose.
Just looking at your face makes me feel better. I depend on you... Even if you're not really dependable.
So you have to be happy, right?
Looking at you now, I see you don't even understand what happiness means.
You see? Nothing can be felt unless someone exists to tell them what to feel. That is why we exist.
But then... how would anyone know the divine beauty of the hotpod?!



They are healthier and therefore better.
See? Let us manage the people, and they will be happy.
No informed soul could disagree.
No! I should be their leader! For that, I will give up everything! Even if it means risking my own life...
...
Oh, how I hate to see pitiful creatures suffer. It embarrasses both us and them.
I get it now.



Look what happened to Haephnes when she trusted the people to take care of themselves.
They all started bickering, and now the world's a mess, is it not?
No! Lord Median brought us all together!
...
Hm. Perhaps.
But then your Median killed Vigilance and then lost his life to Virtuous.
And once Haephnes lost its 'unifier', they fell right back into war and chaos.
So much for the strength of humans.



All Drazil did was whisper in his ear.
Only a weak-hearted fool would follow the path Median did.
Exactly. His decisions were an extension of the faults inherent within him.
Now compare that to our own world. Drazil is a land without fault, complete and perfect.
Then how'd we get this far?
Ohh, hella burn from the kid!
*sigh* I fear you'll never understand us.
All you understand is violence and anger. I do so detest such qualities. They have no beauty...
I'll show you beauty!
You're gonna pay for trying to make a fool of me!
Get ready for the pain!!!

So Drazil was responsible for all of it, down to the death of Vigilance. We should have known. Gamma and Joules, cowards that they are, refused to engage us directly, and instead called for swarms of guards. They were no match for us, though.

VIDEO


Feinne on Soul Nomad:

So, this map can be painful, because there's several large rooms of Drazil Women. Drazil Women have a nasty ranged attack that will wreck casters in a hearbeat, and should be terminated with your most powerful attacks. You might notice I make use of the Silent Walk décor to let Layna pick and choose battles. This is a good way to allow vulnerable rooms to take part in battles. Casters are another good choice for Silent Walk.

For all their supposed strength, Gamma and Joules were clearly afraid to fight us head on. Their inability to trust in humanity was just a sign of the deep cowardice that defined them. With their guards dead, our victory seemed assured. Oh how wrong we were.

The worst was yet to come.

Next on Soul Nomad: The Lord Drazil Cometh!